Monkeybiz: Bead by Bead!

Monkeybiz is a South African non-profit organization of over 450 Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele and Sotho women, who create unique beadworks for sale, rekindling the ancient art and craft of South African beadwork. The women, mostly from the very poor Townships of Cape Town, South Africa, suffuse the artworks with the vivid colors, textures, stories and expressions of Southern Africa. It is the very personal inspiration and interpretation of each artist that brings such energy, life and spirit to each one-of-a-kind creation.

By buying these beautiful, one-of-a-kind beaded art pieces, Monkeybiz provides the women –many of whom are HIV positive - a sustainable way to support themselves and their families. The project also supports a wellness clinic that provides a hot meal for the woman and her children, medical, nutritional and emotional support as well as the community support of other women in the same situation. It is a lifeline for women in extreme poverty. In addition to a soup kitchen, Monkeybiz launched a burial society for its members. Because of the increasing financial constraints experienced by the community due to the overwhelming costs of funerals, Monkeybiz contributes half of the cost of a funeral plan per month. This helps with costs of funerals, travel, and associated costs, allowing the women to be covered in these unfortunate circumstances.

Doctors are a very important part of a community which struggles with the HIV epidemic, so it is only natural that the artwork would includes these characters. This doll was created by Singathwa Mahonyang.
The doctor comes with his own custom museum style base.